actually, its recently started to change…now you can say “disabled” again (because SJWs cant make up their minds) but you have to say it “people first” to “emphise that its a PERSON”…..so its people of the disabled varieity, or something along the lines….

but of course thats only one version…because they cant make up their mind, its impossable to be “sensitive” enough for them

It stands for “Social Justice Warrior”. It’s a sarcastic term, they actually inhibit any kind of justice. A hallmark is that they deliberately misconstrue any statement in any way they can so they can denounce and harangue you. Calling them out on it tends to result in bitter denials and personal attacks from them.

Man. So male, so white, so able, so old, this comment thread. Maybe the participants here don’t like having those aspects of their identity emphasised. Maybe I’m even- GASP! mislabelling some! Guess you’d better suck that up tho, sucklords.

First off, the game is now “Patriarchal Bovine Slave Masters and Murderer vs Representatives of one of the many North American Indigenous Tribes who Each had a Unique and Varied Culture and how Dare you try to Lump them all Into A Single Cultural Entity”.

Secondly, it can’t be played anyone who dresses up as a ROOOTMNAITWEHAUAVCAHDYTTLTAIASCE is guilty of cultural appropriation unless they are a ROOOTMNAITWEHAUAVCAHDYTTLTAIASCE in which case you are guilty of stereotyping.

Thirdly, the game they play today is “Hipster vs Cooler Hipster”. The entire game consists of arguing who is the cooler hipster.

Do kids play anything with each other that doesn’t involve a screen? Looks to me that they went from communal play to everybody with their own fancy swingset / tower in the back yard to never even going in the back yard. And they don’t ever seem to go in the woods or the creeks any more.

That last panel sends chills down my spine. Now I have to ask myself “does it matter what political affiliation Adam has?” On the one hand, bugmartini is just light entertainment and very rarely political–so it’s irrelevant what Adam’s personal beliefs are, right? On top of that, the ‘SJW’ reference could just be a cartoonist’s nod to a contentious debate.

But if it’s not, and Adam is using a gamergate/far right slogan because it’s a position he identifies with, should it affect my enjoyment of bugmartini? Even if I just call that one panel a ‘miss’ and forget about it, is it really fair to expect a cartoonist to keep their strips 100% apolitical?

Homie was 100% unapologetic about using spaz in an old comic when someone from the UK told him it was a really offensive term, then doubled down in the same comment thread when someone with a MLP avatar told him he should make a comic making fun of SJWs. I still like the comic, though. It’s funny. I can enjoy something someone makes without liking the person.

Considering this is a US webcomic and the word has none of the UK connotations Stateside he should indeed BE completely unapologetic. It’s officially overreaching when you reach across the Atlantic to be offended.

“Social justice warriors” is no longer a far right slogan. It’s pretty much entered the mainstream lexicon. Kinda like how everybody uses “Obamacare” now.

I would caution greatly about judging people completely based on specific words, especially on a comic that makes a valid point focusing on the tree rather than the forest. Because it puts you in danger of doing exactly what you accuse your opposite of doing to you.

Like I said, he could be using it apolitically. The reason these questions were raised, however, is because there’s a very real possibility that he isn’t. Particularly given that the context of the joke (perpetuating the stereotype of a hyper-aggressive and hypocritical left) places the term ‘SJW’ back into the context of its pejorative coinage. Of course I’m not ‘judging’ Adam in a punitive–you’re on the political right and should be punished–way. That’d be ridiculous, and patently unfair. But I am judging his character in the iterative social way that everyone constantly evaluates everyone else they come into contact with (as is natural) and wondering to what extent I should let that judgment influence my ‘purchasing’ decisions.

It’s something I’ve thought about a lot recently, mostly in the context of social media news, and the ‘bubble’ it creates around us. I can go entire days now without coming into contact with anybody who doesn’t share a very similar set of political beliefs, and the old practice of ‘don’t talk about religion or politics’ is falling by the wayside. It’s a skill we/I don’t develop anymore, because it is so rarely needed. But it’s still important we don’t fracture online webcomics (for instance) due to our inability to drop the political.

Of course having said that–it is very difficult. I’m wondering if it’s too difficult. I feel very strongly about my political beliefs–they’re in my bones–and I suppose I have to decide to what extent I want to cultivate my apolitical eye.

#It’s worth noting that I’m not American–so my mentions of the political left/right aren’t euphemistically Dem/GOP.

It sounds like you’re mourning the fact that people create a bubble where they don’t have to hear anything that they disagree with. It sounds like you think this is a bad trend because it’s robbing people of the ability to see others’ perspective or even speak to someone of a different viewpoint respectfully.

Then it seems like you switch it around and are considering dropping Bugmartini, not because of anything that Adam has said or depicted, but because of what could possibly be his political leanings. I agree with you on the first part, but I’m left wondering where your conclusion came from.

Reading again, it could be that I missed your tone, and you’re in support of self-chosen bubbles. If that’s the case, read my first paragraph as a pleading for tolerance and respect, across the political spectrum and hopefully extending to religious and lifestyle choices as well.

Respect begins with at the very least listening to those that seem to oppose you. These bubbles do vast harm and little good. Please leave this small opening into your mind for alternative viewpoints. Then your statement, “I can go entire days now without coming into contact with anybody who doesn’t share a very similar set of political beliefs.” could change for the better.

On a political website, or news website, such a thing could be impossible. But, here we gather for entertainment. Here is a lax environment where laughter can overcome anger.

Your confusion is understandable Wraj, because I was advancing both viewpoints. I’m not arguing a particular position, I’m raising a question that I think is becoming increasingly relevant in the contemporary online environment. I agree with your statement that “these bubbles do vast harm and little good”, but the perfect solution to the cultural bubbles isn’t readily apparent. There’s a nice (and short) documentary about the televised Vidal/Buckley debates on netflix (AU at least) at the moment which concludes with a rather alarming comparison between the pundits of the late 60s who would clash together in more or less ‘neutral’ territory and the pundits today, who generally stay on their own shows, neatly segregated by political affiliation. I guess the message is about an increasingly insular political environment.

The divisiveness isn’t doing the political field any favors. There are candidates on the far right and far left running for President and will find it difficult to compromise with their opposing party. These candidates were created by the people who are so set in their own ideologies they refuse to see the other side. I’m not sure when “compromise” became a bad word, but that is the state of things. Although there is something to be said for standing your ground on an issue.

I can’t agree with the comic’s stance about being politically incorrect, but I can understand that being politically correct doesn’t get rid of society’s problems, it only hides them.

Yes, I too miss the days when kids could make fun of the decimation of an entire race of people, who are still dealing with the fallout, without censure. Those were the days. I wonder if Native Americans also play cowboys and Indians?

I don’t think the ‘politically correct’ theme was really intentional. Like he said “I don’t think modern children know what the hell Indians and cowboys even are.” He’s saying “the times, they are a’changin” and not “those damned lefties are taking away our fun”, or at least not until the last panel, but it doesn’t really hold up retrospectively. They feel like two different gags.